News Item

Lions Swimming Wins Meet With Wilkes; Lady Lions Edged by Colonels

12/9/2016 — ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona men's swimming posted a 109-79 victory over non-conference opponent Wilkes University on Friday evening in the Adler Natatorium, while the women's swimming team was defeated by Wilkes by a narrow 92-83 margin.

The men's team recorded eight first place finishes, the second-most first places that the squad has totaled in a dual meet this season.

John Polidoro (Bensalem, PA/Holy Ghost Preparatory) represented the Lions' first win of the meet, as he finished in first place in the 1000 Yard Freestyle with a time of 11:35.71. He also earned another first place finish when he was the top swimmer in the 500 Yard Freestyle, finishing in 5:27.10.

David Heckel (Lititz, PA/Warwick) finished atop the standings in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:10.03. Heckel notched another first place later in the meet when he triumphed in the 100 Yard Freestyle, finishing in 52.73.

Gino Cercone (Allison Park, PA/Shaler) placed first in the 100 Yard Butterfly, recording a time of 58.46 to edge his opponent from the Colonels by .01 seconds.

Dominic Woods (Pittsburgh, PA/Brentwood) won the 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:03.64.

The Lions wrapped up the night with a win in the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay, as the team of Heckel, Gregory Landis (York, PA/West York), Polidoro, and Shmurak combined for a time of 8:01.70 to come in first.

For Penn State Altoona men's swimming, the dual meet victory was its fourth of the season. The Lions also remained undefeated at home this year, upping their record to 3-0 in home dual meets.

On the women's side, the Lady Lions earned four first place finishes in a back-and-forth meet that saw the Wilkes Colonels prevail by just nine points.

Eva Gerhart (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) helped her team get rolling by winning the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 2:13.60.

Two events later, Paetyn Zeamer (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) notched back-to-back first place finishes. She won the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:26.88, then followed that up by coming in first place in the 100 Yard Butterfly by clocking in at 1:08.29.

In the last event of the women's meet, the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay, Zeamer, Christina Grieco (Monroeville, PA/Gateway), Maria Gibson (South Abington Township, PA/Abington Heights), and Gerhart came together to clinch first place with a combined time of 9:22.16.

The Penn State Altoona men's and women's swimming teams will now enter winter break, and the squads are slated to return to action on Friday, January 13 for a tri-meet at York College. The Lions and Lady Lions will take on host school York, along with Gallaudet University, that day in a meet beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Photo (by Joel Nelson): Penn State Altoona freshman David Heckel competes during Friday night's meet against Wilkes University in the Adler Natatorium. Heckel had two individual first place finishes on the night and was also part of a first place in a relay event.